In this paper, I postulate that forced migration in modern Africa is largely explained by factors
deeply rooted in colonial legacies and the globalization process. For example, among the
colonial historical factors someone may identify land alienation that still fuels conflicts in
Zimbabwe, the colonial military doctrine based on human rights abuse that continues to drive
post-independence military actions in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and the
colonial ethnic hierarchization that continues to enforce exclusive ethnic identities in Rwanda
and Burundi. On its part, globalization is about pauperizing and victimizing more and more
people around the world, therefore generating more and more wars ultimately provoking forced
migration. Solutions are not easy to design and implement. But I believe that it is possible to
limit forced migration in Africa if state leaders and the international community decide to
address colonial historical legacies and oblige corporations to commit to a more responsible
management.

A salient feature of the current literature on development planning in Africa is the
growing recognition of the cardinal role of population as a factor in determining the level,
pattern and rate of development. In this respect, what is most significant is the recognition
accorded to the inter-relationships between population variables and other economic, social
and cultural factors. A worthy and desirable goal of all economic and social development is
the improvement of the standard of living of the population. It is therefore crucial that
development planning should take into account the nature, evolution and characteristics of
the population to be catered for in the plan period. An indispensable way of doing this is
through empirical evidence emanating from official census enumeration. Biased or defective
census data would lead to wrong decisions and future estimates and projections based on
defective data will mislead planners and administrators.
<br>As an illustration and based on data availability, an attempt was made to assess the
quality of the age-sex data in the 1973-1993 censuses of The Gambia. Focus was on the
levels and trends of error over the twenty-year period. In order to provide a clear picture of
the extent of distortion which might have occurred, the data presented in single years of age
were first evaluated by using the Whipple's, Myers', and Bachi's indexes. The Whipple's
index has remained at over 230, while the Myers' and Bachi's indexes have fluctuated
around 44 and 29, respectively, over the period. The results show that there were biases from
inaccurate age reporting and recording between1973 and 1993. A closer examination of the
age distribution was carried out by trying to curtail part of the erratic fluctuations in the
single-year age distribution through grouping the data in quinary ages, and applying the
United Nation age-sex accuracy index. This index yielded 92 in 1973, 87 in 1983, and 76 in
1993, indicating that the quality of the age-sex data is still poor in The Gambia. However,
age data for males are more accurate than for females.
<br>The findings are not peculiar to Gambia. Adequate statistical data for planning is lacking
for many countries in Africa. In these countries, a significant amount of collected data lags
unduly behind and the universe coverage is generally incomplete. And yet the countries of
the region require reasonably accurate statistical information for effective development
planning especially of basic societal needs in all sectors: education, employment, health,
housing, transportation, and agriculture and food. The planning is essentially predicated on
the collection of accurate age and sex data. Uptake in educational levels is likely to reduce
age misstatement in the region.

Dance in Africa continues to play a significant role in the social and religious lives of the
people. In Wenchi, the Brong Ahafo region of Ghana, the Gobi dance is one of the most
popular dance forms.
<br>Gobi, performed by two settler groups, the Wangara and Banda, originally from the Ivory
Coast, is an example of the role dance plays in uniting the community. Even though the
Wangara and Banda see themselves as different ethnic groups, they are united as one through
their participation in Gobi.
<br>An important feature of Gobi is that the movements that form the form are a combination
of Manding, Dyula and Akan movement patterns. This combination in effect, has contributed
to the growth and appeal of Gobi. It has also benefited the cultural life of the people of
Wenchi.

In the Nigerian theatre, more female playwrights are emerging to question the invisibility
and negative female stereotypes that have characterized the works of many Nigerian male
dramatists. They are beginning to challenge the male -centric approach of the hitherto
patriarchal domain. This study examines the seminal efforts of two female playwrights, Foluke
Adesina and Chima Utoh. The two plays for analysis are: <I>A Nest in a Cage&lt;/I&gt; by Foluke Adesina
and <I>Who Owns this Coffin?&lt;/I&gt; by Chima Utoh. The main preoccupation of this work is the critical
analysis of the image of the twenty-first century Nigerian woman. This article focuses on the
selected playwrights as Womanists, who are engaged in the process of constructing icons and
symbols for African and Nigerian women. We also discuss, among other things, the process of
providing examples for African and Nigerian women's self expression and self-identification.
We adopt the position that womanism does not shy away from reality; consequently, the study
examines the various types of female characters- the good, the bad, and the ugly, within the
society as presented in the plays. The bad and the ugly are presented as results of patriarchal
social structures and individual pathologies. This discourse is predicated on the view that
Womanist poetics is a way of 'raising the consciousness of women, sensitizing and
conscientizing them in order to enhance their involvement in all areas of society without any
inhibition'.